The Ballroom

This has been a difficult review in the sense that I, initially, couldn't pinpoint what it was that didn't feel right for me. Up to the middle, I knew I liked it enough to continue reading, my overall impression was positive, but it wasn't fulfilling my expectations.In a certain degree, I am still conflicted and divided over a few parts of the novel. And then, something happened and the book started coming to life.

I started The Ballroom by Anna Hope with enthusiasm. Stories that are set in asylums, dealing with mental illness have always fascinated me. There is something profound, humbling even, in diving right into the deepest recesses of the human brain and witness how much difference can a single stimulus make, however slight or unimportant it may seem. Moreover, novels that are set in asylums are full of characters that have no reason to be there, other than the prejudices and norms on which the societies of the past were built. Whoever dares to walk away from conformities is branded a ‘‘lunatic'', deemed a danger to the ‘‘good people''.

Here, we have an interesting premise. In the asylum of our story, in Yorkshire, there is a special hall called The Ballroom. The patients,men and women, who are well-behaved are rewarded when they are chosen to take part in the waltz-evenings, under the sound of Dr. Fuller's piano.The characters in focus are four. Ella, a young woman who broke a window in her workplace, John Mulligan from Ireland, who is harbouring family secrets, Clem, a young upper-class girl and Dr. Fuller who is the character that drived the story forward.

There is a great risk of spoilers with The Ballroom. What I can safely say is that I found the plot of eugenics really interesting,if terrifying. The particular notion isn't something new. A number of scientists serving their own distorted ideas of pure societies, some distinguished public figures of the time, and a handful of totalitarian states desired to bring it to action. There are voices - however weak - still supporting it today, which fills me with horror over the future of mankind, but this is a discussion for another time.

The characters are wel-drawn. Ella is sensible, sensitive and with tremendous resources of inner strength, as is John. He has the characteristics of a tragic figure, his sense of freedom being his driving force and in my opinion, he is the one the reader can immediately connect with. Clem was an unsympathetic, irritating character in my eyes. And Dr. Fuller? There's so much storm inside him, so much darkness and illusions, so many secrets. What starts as a force of good becomes the most evil presence in the narration. When his character comes into focus,though, the tides change and the novel finds its pace, becoming a whirlwind of events.

What I enjoyed was the fact that the love plot of The Ballroom was well-written and given in a poetic, but not melodramatic way. Did I find it realistic? No. I didn't even find it plausible, but sometimes we must part with our reservations and appeciate a story for it sheer beauty. The writing is balanced, if a little slow. It took me some time to connect with the characters and the heart of the narration. The dialogue is realistic, but at the same time, it retains a certain dream-like quality. I appreciated the fact that Anna Hope didn't spend time describing other patients' stories, it would be unecessary as the novel already has its share of darkness as it is.

So, I could actually rate The Ballroom with 3.5 stars in order to be absolutely honest. However, the way the story is developed and the structure of the characters cannot but carry you with them. I read the last page having feelings that were a mix of sadness and frustration rather than hope. But I know that most of the ''real'' life stories end in such a way, instead of a ''happily-ever- after''...